The Vancouver Canucks continue alternating wins and losses and now sit at a mediocre 9-10-2 for a total of 20 points. They are well behind their pace from last season, when they hit 90 and missed the playoffs, as they sat 11-7-3 after 21 games. The good news is, the other teams in the Pacific Division haven’t performed very well either. As of this writing, the Anaheim Ducks lead the way with 27 points, and the Los Angeles Kings hold down third spot with 24, which means the Canucks are only a winning streak away from making a dent in the division.
Related: Each Pacific Team’s Most Concerning Stat So Far
The problem: the Canucks can’t seem to get on any sort of run, as they haven’t won back-to-back games since their three-game winning streak in early October when they beat the Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals. They have to start stringing wins together soon; it’s only a matter of time before the spread becomes too tough to overcome, and we are talking about the Draft Lottery rather than the playoffs.
The Canucks are coming off another up-and-down string of games where they almost pulled a win out of the fire against the Carolina Hurricanes, beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 after a five-goal third period, and scored another five against the defending two-time Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, only to give up eight and lose 8-5.
As you might imagine, there are a lot of positives and negatives to be gleaned from the Canucks’ last nine periods (plus overtime), so let’s get into this week’s 3 Up, 3 Down.
Plus One: Elias Pettersson Is Starting to Heat Up
The biggest positive that has come from the last three games is that Elias Pettersson is starting to score again. He has three goals in his last four games, which all came on this recent road trip, and is currently on a four-game point streak with three goals and eight points in that span. He is also still blocking a ton of shots and taking an insane amount of faceoffs, pushing himself more and more into Selke Trophy consideration.
On the season so far, Pettersson has six goals and 19 points in 21 games, putting him on pace for 74 points, a marked improvement from his 45 points in 2024-25. While it’s not the 90-100 point pace everyone was hoping for, it’s a step in the right direction and could be a sign that he’s finally found the elite forward that has been eluding him since 2022-23.
Minus One: Canucks Are Surprisingly Bad Defensively
The two strengths of this Canucks team were supposed to be goaltending and defence. While one is arguably proving to be true, the other is definitely not, especially at five-on-five. As of this writing, they are the worst in the NHL, giving up the most scoring chances (501) and high-danger chances (236).
The Canucks are also the worst team in the league on the penalty kill with an abysmal 67.1 percent success rate, and have allowed the most power-play goals, 25, six more than the Capitals. Finally, when it comes to the stat of plain goals against, they also rank as one of the worst, allowing the second-most (77), thanks to another eight given up to the Panthers in their 8-5 loss on Sunday. In other words, they aren’t good at defending, period, which is surprising considering head coach Adam Foote and assistant coach Kevin Dean are supposed to be gurus in that department.
It’s honestly shocking the Canucks are just a game under .500 with stats like those. If not for the goaltending from Thatcher Demko in October and Kevin Lankinen since Demko was injured, I shudder to think how bad their record would be (likely in the basement with the Calgary Flames and Buffalo Sabres). If the Canucks want to be in the playoff picture come April or simply by American Thanksgiving, something needs to change, and fast.
Plus Two: Quinn Hughes Explodes For 10 Points in Last 3 Games
One thing that hasn’t been an issue this season is goal scoring, and Quinn Hughes has, of course, been the facilitator of that, especially lately. The captain has an astounding 10 points in his last three games and is now third in the NHL in scoring by defencemen, only five back of his rival Cale Makar. It’s been a fantastic run for the 26-year-old, who has 20 points in 16 games, all while dealing with injuries that have cost him five games so far.
Hughes wasn’t very good by his standards to start the season. He didn’t look like himself, and admitted to the media on Wednesday (Nov. 19) that he was missing a bit of swagger to his game.
“I liked my game earlier, I really did,” he said of his slow start offensively. “But maybe there was, like, a per cent or two missing — just a little bit of swagger. Just a little bit cleaner on some touches in the O-zone, where I would have been normally. Like, I remember a play in Chicago (on Oct. 17) where I lost the puck on the blue line, which I wouldn’t if I’m at my best. I would never lose the puck there. You just keep going. You can’t play great for 82 games, so I’m trying to be mentally tough and stay focused on the things I can control. I think that’s helping.”
Now, Hughes has returned to the elite, generational talent Canucks fans have become accustomed to seeing night in and night out. He’s dancing around the offensive zone, making players miss, and generally controlling the play every time he’s on the ice. Basically, he’s doing Quinn Hughes things again, and the team is going to need that from him for the rest of the season if they hope to make any noise in a playoff race.
Minus Two: Penalty Kill Continues to Struggle, On Pace For Historic Lows
As mentioned, the Canucks’ penalty kill is the worst in the NHL, and it continued its descent with another underwhelming effort against the Panthers. The unit allowed another two power-play goals and has now only shut out the other team in five games this season on the man advantage. Multiple goals have also become a theme; they have allowed two in eight of their 21 games.
The Canucks are currently on pace to post the worst penalty kill percentage in NHL history, beating the Los Angeles Kings’ 68.2 percent mark set in 1979-80. The franchise record is 70.5 percent, set by the 1984-85 Canucks. Those are two records you don’t want to see broken by the end of the season, because if they are, it’s almost a guarantee they missed the playoffs – probably by a lot.
Plus Three: Jake DeBrusk On Another Hot Streak, Dominating on Power Play
Another Canuck on a hot streak lately is the ever-streaky Jake DeBrusk. He has eight goals this season, and six of them have come in November alone. He has failed to score in only three games this month, posting six goals in nine games, including five in his last six. The Canucks’ leading scorer last season has done most of his damage on the power play. He is second only to Wyatt Johnston in power-play markers with seven so far, and five of those have been scored in the last eight games.
DeBrusk is on pace for his first 30-goal season, but only 39 points, which would be his worst output since 2018-19. He’s going to have to up his assist totals to avoid that, as he only has two helpers so far. And despite being on a hot streak on the power play, it would be good if he could contribute more five-on-five. The Canucks are one of the worst at even strength, with a league-low 42.76 expected goals percentage and the second-lowest Corsi for percentage (43.87), according to Money Puck.
Minus Three: Injury List Getting No Reprieve Anytime Soon
The Canucks got some good news on Conor Garland on Wednesday as he returned to practice after missing their game against the Panthers. But that’s the only good news Foote provided in his injury update to the media. Derek Forbort (out since Oct. 11) will be out a while still. Nils Hoglander (out since the preseason) is trending toward the 10-week mark of his initial 8-10 week timeline, and finally, Teddy Blueger (out since Oct. 19) suffered a setback in his recovery and is hoping to skate in the next few days.
As for Demko and Filip Chytil, the latest update from general manager Patrik Allvin on Saturday was somewhat positive, but didn’t offer any solid timelines. Chytil is skating in Vancouver, but has been “in and out” and “feeling better”, while Demko was said to be week-to-week after reports of 2-3 weeks on Nov. 12. All in all, it doesn’t seem like the Canucks are going to get any help from their injured reserve list anytime soon, which still sits at seven players (including minor-leaguers Jett Woo and Guillaume Brisebois).
What’s Next for the Canucks?
The Canucks will welcome the Stars to Rogers Arena tonight as they begin a short two-game homestand. After closing it out on Sunday against the Calgary Flames, they will embark on their traditional California road trip, beginning with the upstart Ducks on Wednesday.
